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Coping with the Stress of Infertility - Complementary Care Group

Coping with the Stress of Infertility

One of the many challenges that come with receiving a diagnosis of infertility is that by the time you actually receive an official diagnosis, you have already gone through months, or possibly years of trying to have a baby. By then, you already understand the disappointment that comes from wanting to have a baby, and not being able to realize your dream, despite all your best efforts. It is the ongoing and seemingly never-ending cycle of hope and disappointment, along with a variety of other difficult emotions, that contribute to the stress of infertility.

This cycle, which is described by many as the “emotional rollercoaster of infertility”, greatly contributes to the fact that many individuals experiencing infertility describe it as the most stressful period of their lives. If that is the case for you, your usual “toolbox of coping skills”, as described by Dr. Alice Domar, may not be adequate for coping with the stress and strain of infertility. The first step for coping differently is identifying if that is the case for you, and then set about finding different, more effective ways of coping. After recognizing and identifying the possibility that you could benefit from learning different ways to cope, you need to then identify how you are coping now.

Coping can be defined as an individual’s efforts to manage the internal and external demands of a stressor. All methods of coping can be categorized as maladaptive (ineffective), or adaptive (effective). If most of your and/or your partner’s coping strategies fall under the maladaptive category, you will definitely benefit from learning new ways of coping.